The presidential history of Pakistan

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The presidential history of Pakistan is full of ups and downs​

In seven decades, a total of 14 presidents have come, out of which 5 were military and 9 were civilian presidents.

Sameer Saleem
09 Mar 2024


Pakistan, which came into existence as a result of the partition of the subcontinent, had to structure its political system under the 'India Act' of 1935 and under the same act, the last viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, was appointed as the head of the Muslim League, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. took the oath of office as Governor General.

The Quaid-e-Azam wanted to provide such a strong democratic structure to Pakistan from this post that would make Pakistan a welfare state. But ironically, after Quaid-e-Azam's death, this position became a seat of power around which a game of musical chairs began. After the adoption of the first constitution of Pakistan in 1956, the post of Governor General was abolished and the post of President was created to be elected by the Electoral College.

A total of 14 presidents have held this position during the periods of presidential and parliamentary system and martial law in the country, and the members of the National and Provincial Assemblies and the Senate once voted for the position of the constitutional head of Pakistan on March 9, 2024. Then elected a new president.

This was the third time in the country's history that a new president was elected for the next term after the completion of the term of office of an elected civilian president.

If we look at the presidential history of Pakistan, it is full of ups and downs, the summary of which is being presented below.

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Iskandar Mirza

23 March 1956 to 27 October 1958

Iskandar Mirza

The first president of Pakistan was Major General Iskandar Mirza who held this position for about 2 years and 7 months. Before that he was also the last Governor General of Pakistan. Just two years after the country's first constitution came into existence in 1956, Iskandar Mirza suspended the constitution and imposed martial law and appointed General Ayub Khan as the chief martial law administrator, the first martial law in Pakistan's history. was

He was removed from this post in a successful military coup led by Ayub Khan on 27 October 1958.

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Field Marshal Ayub Khan

27 October 1958 to 25 March 1969

Ayub Khan

Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan was born in Haripur and became the first military ruler of Pakistan who took power after dismissing Iskandar Mirza and held the office of President for about 10 and a half years. He held a presidential referendum in 1960 and then won the 1964 election, despite Fatima Jinnah's popular support and popular support from all parties, historians do not unanimously recognize the election as transparent.

Industrial development took place under the dictatorship of General Ayub Khan. Tarbela and Mangla dams were built, but General Ayub's presidential constitution of 1962 could not make Pakistan a modern Islamic democratic and welfare state according to the ideals of Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal.

During Ayub Khan's tenure, the 1965 war between Pakistan and India took place, which had a profound negative impact on Pakistan's economy. General Ayub resigned from the government in 1969 under the pressure of the opposition, but in violation of the constitution made during his time, he handed over power to General Yahya Khan instead of the people's representatives. He died in 1974 in Pakistan.

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General Yahya Khan

25 March 1969 to 20 December 1971

Muhammad Yahya Khan

Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan was born in Chakwal and assumed power as a military ruler during one of the most complex and difficult periods in Pakistan's history. In 1967, there was public sentiment against Ayub Khan's rule on one side and secession movement in East Pakistan on the other. He is widely considered responsible for the secession of East Pakistan.

In 1971, after the worst defeat in the war against India and the country's collapse, public opinion became so unfavorable to Yahya Khan that it became impossible for him to continue in office. So, on December 20, 1971, Annan handed over power to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the founder of Pakistan People's Party, a popular party in West Pakistan. Yahya Khan died in 1980 in Rawalpindi.

 

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Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

20 December 1971 to 13 August 1973

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto


Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was first the Foreign Minister in General Ayub's cabinet and then one of the founders of the Awami Movement against him, and became the country's first president and civilian martial law administrator after the creation of Bangladesh. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a native of Larkana, took power after the 1971 war promising to 'bring together the pieces of Pakistan into a new country' and restore democracy.

He is also known as 'Quaid Awam' meaning the leader of the people and the 'Father of the Constitution' of Pakistan. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto gave the country a unified constitution in 1973 and strengthened democratic institutions.

In the constitution of 1973, for the first time, the parliament in the country was divided into the upper house i.e. the Senate and the lower house i.e. the National Assembly. Executive powers were also assigned to the new constitution, similar to the 2 constitutional drafts presented in previous years, the fundamental rights, freedom of expression, while additionally granting freedom of religion, press, movement, association, life and bearing arms. Along with other freedoms, the constitution declared Islam as the state religion and the state as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

In addition to this, the salient features of the aforementioned constitution include the parliamentary system of government in Pakistan and the Prime Minister being declared the head of the country, the President and the Prime Minister being necessarily Muslim, two-thirds of the lower house and an overwhelming majority in the upper house to amend the constitution. It includes making Urdu the national language of Pakistan, guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary, banning prostitution and other immoral matters and promoting the Arabic language, etc.

Apart from giving the country the constitution of 1973, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto made many policies and reforms which made Pakistan's role prominent not only in the region but also in the world, including reforms in the industrial sector, land and Agrarian reforms, economic policy, expansion of banking and exports, passport reforms, labor policy and social security measures are noteworthy.

Apart from giving a unified constitution to the country, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's role in achieving nuclear capability and raising public awareness is considered very important.

When Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto started Pakistan's nuclear program, the then American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was sent on a special visit to Pakistan, who threatened Bhutto that if he did not abandon the nuclear policy, he would be made an example. will Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto rejected the American threat and fully patronized Dr. Qadeer Khan.

He himself belonged to a feudal family but declared open rebellion against the feudal system.

When Pakistan became a parliamentary republic under the 1973 constitution, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto resigned from the presidency to become prime minister. Under this constitution, powers were placed on the heads of the elected parliament and the prime minister, after which the office of the president was reduced to signing files and cutting the ribbon at ceremonies.

On July 5, 1977, Chief of the Armed Forces General Muhammad Ziaul Haq removed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto from office and imposed martial law in the country and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was arrested in the case of the murder of Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan. On 18 March 1977, he was sentenced to death for the murder and on 4 April 1979, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged in the Rawalpindi District Jail.

Fazal Elahi Chaudhry

14 August 1973 to 16 September 1978

Fazal Elahi Chaudhry

Under the 1973 Constitution, Fazal Elhi Chaudhry became the first President of Pakistan after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who had lesser powers than the Prime Minister. He held this position for 5 years and one month. Hailing from Kharian, Fazal Elahi Chaudhry had also been the Speaker of the National Assembly and had extensive experience in parliamentary politics.

The PNA movement gained momentum following allegations of rigging in the 1977 elections, after which General Ziaul Haq overthrew Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and became the country's third martial law administrator. Fazl Elahi held the post of president for some time after the assassination of Ziaul Haq, but then he resigned on September 14, 1978.

General Zia-ul-Haq

16 September 1978 to 17 August 1988

Ziaul Haq


General Ziaul Haq, who was born in Jalandhar, held the post of President for almost 10 years. Like General Ayub, General Zia also needed the crutches of a referendum to extend this presidency. So in 1984 he held a highly controversial referendum in which he won with 95% of the votes.

The year after the referendum, General Ziaul Haq organized non-partisan elections. The newly elected assembly not only ratified all the previous measures of Zia-ul-Haq but also passed the Eighth Amendment which empowered the President to dissolve the Assembly under Article 58(2)(b). Now he is not just the president but the prime minister and the parliament have become rubber stamps in front of him. During his tenure, Pakistan became a major ally of America in the Cold War.

Zia-ul-Haq introduced limits and zakat ordinances, shariah laws, blasphemy laws, madrassa expansion, cultural policy, shariah courts, economic policy, constitutional amendment and measures for the welfare of the disabled etc. in his government.

On August 17, 1988, the sun of President Ziaul Haq's power came to an end when his plane crashed near Bahawalpur. Under the 1973 Constitution, the Chairman of the Senate becomes the President in the absence of the President. At that time the chairman of the Senate was Ghulam Ishaq Khan, so he became the fifth president of the country.

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Ghulam Ishaq Khan

17 August 1988 to 18 July 1993

Ghulam Ishaq Khan


The presidency of Ghulam Ishaq Khan from Peshawar spanned about 5 years. After the elections on November 16, 1988, the People's Party came to power once again. However, the government of Benazir Bhutto expediently decided to keep Ghulam Ishaq Khan as the president. For him, this decision proved to be very heavy and within two years, Ghulam Ishaq Khan brought down Benazir Bhutto's government by using the powers granted to the President under the Eighth Amendment.

After that came the government of Nawaz Sharif. In the beginning, his government's relations with Ghulam Ishaq Khan were good, but gradually the situation worsened and it reached the point that in July 1993, Nawaz Sharif not only lost the Prime Ministership but also Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Take and sink.

Senate Chairman Waseem Sajjad became Malik's acting president until general elections were held and a new government was formed. He held the position until November 14, 1993, after which the new ruling Pakistan People's Party nominated Farooq Ahmad Khan Laghari for the post of president. Waseem Sajjad also took regular part in the election of President but Farooq Leghari defeated him.

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Farooq Leghari

14 November 1993 to 2 December 1997

Farooq Leghari


Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari from Dera Ghazi Khan became the country's president in 1993 with the strong support of the People's Party, but he dismissed his own party's government in 1996 using the Eighth Amendment on corruption charges.

In the 1997 elections, Mian Nawaz Sharif's party won with a huge majority and took advantage of the huge mandate to abolish the presidential power to dissolve the assembly, after which serious differences arose between Nawaz Sharif and the President and Farooq Leghari. had to resign.

Chairman Senate Waseem Sajjad once again became the Acting President of the country for a short period of one month.

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Rafiq Tarar

1 January 1998 to 20 June 2001

Rafiq Tarar


After retiring as a judge of the Supreme Court in 1997, Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was elected as a member of the Senate on a Pakistan Muslim League (N) ticket and became the country's president on January 1, 1998. During his tenure, the powers of the President were gradually curtailed and eventually further curtailed by the Thirteenth Amendment.

When General Musharraf dismissed Nawaz Sharif's government on October 12, 1999, he chose the post of Chief Executive for himself and let Rafiq Tarar remain as President. But after some time he realized that like other military leaders of the country he would be crowned president, so he also organized a referendum and sent Rafiq Tarar home and took the oath of office on June 20, 2001.

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General Pervez Musharraf

20 June 2001 to 6 October 2007

Pervez Musharraf


Pervez Musharraf's presidency was not devoid of powers like Rafiq Tarar and Chaudhry Fazal Elahi. They took out 58 (To) (B) and hung it like a sword over the head of the Assembly and the Prime Minister, after which the position of the Prime Minister became secondary.

After the attacks on the World Trade Center of the United States on September 11, 2001, through the then American ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlain, Washington made demands to Pervez Musharraf, which he immediately accepted, and thus the United States against terrorism. Pakistan became formally involved in the war and overnight the Afghan policy of three decades was changed.

Pervez Musharraf held a presidential referendum on April 30, 2002 in order to prolong and secure his power, according to which 98 percent of the people elected him as president for the next 5 years. However, this referendum was rejected and boycotted by the majority of political parties.

In the general elections held in October 2002, the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) supported by General Pervez Musharraf won most of the seats in the National Assembly. However, he passed the 17th Amendment in the National Assembly with his supportive majority, as a result of which he got the legal justification to be the President of Pakistan.

In 2007, he won the country's presidential elections, but the Supreme Court challenged him, while Benazir Bhutto returned to the country, on this occasion, he announced the imposition of emergency in the country and the then Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad. Chaudhry was removed from his post and a new Chief Justice was appointed, who confirmed the victory of General Pervez Musharraf in the presidential elections, but this move was strongly opposed by lawyers, meanwhile in Karachi on May 12. Violent incidents also occurred in which dozens of citizens including lawyers were killed while Pervez Musharraf restored Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to the post of Chief Justice due to intense public pressure.

After the martyrdom of Benazir in December 2007 and the victory of the Pakistan People's Party and Muslim League (N) in the 2008 elections, the pressure on Pervez Musharraf to resign increased. He initially refused to do so but resigned in August 2008 after all parties threatened to impeach him.

After his resignation, Muhammad Mian Soomro became the acting president of the country for less than a month.

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Asif Zardari

9 September 2008 to 8 September 2013

Asif Ali Zardari

Despite the opposition, Asif Ali Zardari adopted a reconciliation policy immediately after assuming power and followed this policy for five years. He took some decisions during his presidency which are appreciated at the highest level. He transferred all powers to the Prime Minister after the 18th Amendment was passed on 8 April 2010. Since his party was in power and he was also the president of his party, he did not face any problems during his tenure.

Asif Ali Zardari is also credited with granting autonomy to Gilgit-Baltistan in November 2009 and renaming the northwestern province of Pakistan to 'Khyber Pakhtunkhwa'. However, during the five years of his tenure as president, he was also accused of corruption.


9 September 2013 to 8 September 2018

Mamnoon Hussain, the twelfth president of the country, was sworn in on September 9, 2013 after the Muslim League (N) came to power at the centre. In the presidential election, he got 432 votes while his opponent Justice Retired Wajihauddin of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf got 77 votes.

During his presidency, many presidential decrees and ordinances were issued following government decisions. Apart from this, their status remained formal under the Constitution.

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Dr. Arif Alvi

23 September 2018 to 8 March 2024

Dr. Arif Alvi

President Dr. Arif Alvi took oath of office on September 9, 2018 after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came to power at the Centre.

Arifur Rehman Alvi got 353 votes, Maulana Fazlur Rehman got 185 votes and Aitzaz Ahsan got 124 votes out of the votes cast in the Parliament House and the four provincial assemblies in Islamabad.

His presidency officially ended on September 8, 2023, but due to the absence of the Electoral College required to elect the President, Dr. Arif Alvi remained in office until March 8, 2024.

Arif Alvi has been accused of subverting the constitution several times during his presidency, especially after the end of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in April 2022 and the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) platform, including the Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan People's Party. During his nearly 16-month rule by various parties, he has faced many controversies and political parties have repeatedly accused him of playing the role of a political party worker instead of being the president of the country.

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Asif Ali Zardari

From 9th March 2024 till date

Asif Zardari


Asif Ali Zardari was elected as the President of the country for the second time on March 9, 2024 after the government of the coalition parties.

Asif Zardari received a total of 411 electoral votes, of which 156 votes were received from the four assemblies and 255 votes from the Parliament.

In total, out of 14 presidents of Pakistan, 5 were military and 9 were civilians.